The World as They Know It
by laEll
Summary: Amelia Sully is shocked when she hears her brother is responsible for the disastrous defeat of humans on Pandora. When she is approached by government officials, who think she might be helpful in re-establishing a negotiation basis on Pandora, she is torn and confused. Second storyline follows Amelia during the time before her brother leaves - as her family slowly breaks apart. T/M
1. Chapter 1

This is my first attempt at a fanfic, so I would really love to hear what you think! ;)

Here's a slightly longer synopsis, if you're interested:

Amelia Sully is shocked when she hears her brother is responsible for the disastrous defeat of humans on Pandora. When she is approached by government officials, who think she might be helpful in re-establishing a negotiation basis on Pandora, she is torn and confused. Traveling to Pandora to meet the brother she hasn't talked to in more than seven years, she asks herself if she will ever be able to understand why he did what he did and whether there is any hope for her own dying planet.

In alternating chapters a second storyline follows Amelia during the time before Jake leaves for Pandora. One fateful blow after the other tears her family apart and she wonders whether she will ever be able to find happiness in this world. A good-looking, warm-hearted collegue at University finally gives her a sense of hope.

* * *

"Hey Amelia!" I heard Pat's voice carrying from the small common room across the narrow, dark hallway into the tiny kitchen. My hands were submerged in a sink full of water, soap and dirty plates. "You're on TV!" he continued "Come on, you'll want to see this."  
I sighed quietly, recovered my hands and found a towel to dry them, making my way towards the sound of the television.  
_"...official reports are still unclear as to what happened exactly..." _I frowned. The screen showed footage of the RDA mining stations on Pandora, alternated with government officials talking. Nothing unusual there. "What's going on?" I asked, mildly interested.  
"War on Pandora!" Dereck, who was sitting next to Pat on the tiny couch, announced dramatically. My eyes widened a little. "What?" I asked incredulously. Reports of tensions on the distant mining station had been omnipresent over the last several months, but full-on war was something different.  
"And we already lost it..." Dereck continued "...looks like it was short and painful."  
I swallowed. "So... what does that have to do with me?" I looked at Pat, who had called me before. "Just wait and see!" he urged, his eyes fixated on the screen.  
_"...the devastating defeat was largely caused by an organised insurrection from within the structures of the RDA itself. According to RDA spokesman Peter Harris a group within the RDA's science department had turned against the Administration and assisted the natives in a plot against its advances. When tensions escalated they supported the natives in their attack on the RDA mission and their insight into RDA structures and military organization are likely to have facilitated the disastrous outcome. A list of the individuals involved in this plot of high treason will be made available in due time. What we know at this point is that the group centered around a man named Jake Sully, who is believed to have led the attack. No official numbers of casualties have been released at this point but they are expected to be in the thousands."  
_I felt a blinding dizziness beset me and tried hard not to let it show. Pat grinned at me. "You don't happen to have any distant relative by the name of Jake, do you?"  
I swallowed hard. "No, I don't" I said and tried to fake a litte laugh. That was true. I didn't have a distant relative by that name. He was my brother. But none of my collegues would ever think of asking me that, since I had told them I was an only child.  
"Well Sully's not _that_ common a name..." Pat continued and seemed slightly disappointed. I shrugged. "It's not _that_ uncommen either..."  
The voice in the TV continued. _"... the failure of the mission will have far-reaching consequences for all of us. Cut-backs and further restrictions on electricity and water supply are expected, as well as..."_  
I blinked a couple of times, trying to force back the sick feeling that was developing in my stomach. I couldn't think with all my collegues in the room.  
"I'll be out for a couple of minutes!" I told them and left the room. Heading to the dark, tiny cubicle that was Eloise's and my room I had a hard time keeping my balance and not stumbling over my own feet. I grabbed for my grey protective breathing mask with shaking hands and wanted to head back out, when I ran into Pat in the tiny hallway. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked and his forehead creased with concern.  
I raised my eyebrows at him. "What's _wrong_? We just lost a war, with thousands of people dead and there'll be more restrictions on God knows what and I don't even want to think about what else they're going to come up with now." And it very much looks like all that is to a significant part my own brother's fault, I added in my mind.  
Pat reached out and put one hand on my arm. "Don't worry so much, Am! It'll be fine, I'm sure! They'll find some other way... to..." He wasn't really sure what to say and I took the opportunity to squeeze past him and head towards the door. "I'm sorry, Pat, I just need to get out of here" I said turning back. He nodded. "Why are you always wearing that thing?" he added, pointing to the mask I was just putting on.  
I gave him a hard look. "Oh I don't know... maybe because my mother died of lung cancer..." I mumbled angrily and escaped out the door. "Right, I'm sorry!" I heard Pat's voice call after me as I stepped out the door and pressed the button to the elevator. I got into the tiny metal confinement and once again wondered, how we were not all going insane with claustrophobia.

I stepped out into the street and it was raining. The large dorm room tower of Central University was situated close to the centre of the city, so it only took me a few minutes to reach Central Square. I regretted that I had come the moment I looked up to the huge screen overlooking the square.

_"__**Traitors bring about massacre on RDA mining station on Pandora**__"_

It said in huge glowing letters. I tried to breath through the confinement of the mask, but my lungs only received my own hot breath. When I felt I was close to passing out I pulled the mask from my face and took a deep breath. I might as well die now, I thought grimly. Now that I had apparently lost the last member of my family. I continued my slow progression along the main street. Closely surrounded by thousands of people, bodies pressing against mine, I felt utterly lonely. When I could no longer bear the close proximity I escaped into a side alley. Before I had moved to the City to go to University my mother and brothers had repeatedly made me promise that I would never leave the main streets on my own. "Those side alleys are literally biotopes for criminals." Jake had said. I didn't care now. My mother was dead, Tommy was dead and Jake had apparently betrayed the whole human race and me along with it. I felt a single tear finding its way down my cheek. I didn't understand the world. Jake had always been somewhat rebellious when we had been younger, but this...? Why he would do something so horrible, I could not fathom. Thousands of people dead... I shook my head to drive away the thought.  
The alley I was walking through was dirty and a sickening stench clung to the dark concrete walls. It looked like a good place to die, I thought and realized that more tears were washing down my cheeks.  
"Hello young lady!" I heard a greasy voice and almost jumped when I stared into the face it belonged to. "All alone?" A man with a huge, dangerous grin, that revealed only half of the teeth a normal human possessed, stood behind me.  
"No" I said firmly "actually, my friends are just over there." I pointed towards the other end of the alley, praying to God that it led to a major street and not another dark alley. And then I just turned and made a run for it. There was a street on the other end that was lightly populated and I panted with aching lungs as I reached it. So much about wanting to die, I thought, wiping away the remaining water on my cheeks.  
Then I turned my head up to see which line of the sky-train was nearby and made out which direction I had to go into. Hesitantly, I put the mask back on and walked with more determination, back to Central University. Jake had been gone for almost seven years, I thought. I've been fine without him for all that time, I would be fine without him now. He had left my life a long time ago and he would not enter it now. Nobody had to know I was the traitor's sister. If only nobody would find out, I prayed silently as the University Tower came into sight in the distance and I felt thousands of bodies pushing and shoving against me for the millionth time.


	2. Chapter 2

**9 Years earlier**

* * *

"Testing will start next week" I told my mother, who was standing in the kitchen, emptying a plastic bag of some brown goo into a bowl and putting it into the microwave.  
"So, can you decide where to apply to?" she asked.  
"Well, not really. That's what they changed... You can state a preference, but it's not really relevant if your testing results indicate you would be better at something else. They said that you might get to choose from two or three fields of study, though, if your results indicate you would be equally suited for them."  
Mom shook her head with a tired expression. "It's getting worse and worse... Don't they understand that people will be better at what they _want_ to study?"  
I shrugged my shoulders, scanning the information leaflet on my screen. "Well, the government says that people will enjoy what they're good at. And you know, they say we can't afford to squander human resources at positions where they're not ideally used... With how everything is at the moment... I really hope I'll test well for teaching..." I sighed quietly.  
Mom gave me an encouraging smile. "I'm sure you'll get to do something you enjoy!" She took the bowl of vitamin porridge from the microwave and distributed it equally onto two plates, adding a piece of bread to each.  
"So what are they going to test you on?" she asked, setting down the two plates and taking her seat across from me.  
"Well... they didn't tell us exactly. There'll be several IQ tests, a few physical tests and possibly something psychological as well... oh but they said that they most important factor will be genetic testing. So there's really only so much we can influence..."  
Mom dipped her bread into the brown substance and shook her head again. "I wonder how that would have turned out if Tommy and Jake had had to do that... I can't imagine them both doing the same thing..."  
I laughed lightly. "Right... maybe they would have found out that they weren't genetically identical after all..."  
Mom smiled. "Can you imagine Jake working in a science lab?"  
I had to laugh at the thought of that. "_Or_ Tommy in the military..." I added "It's hard to say who'd have the harder time."  
Mom nodded thoughtfully and I discontentedly poked at my vitamin porridge with the hard piece of bread in my hand. "Can't we buy some real food again, for a change?"  
"I'm sorry, sweetheart" Mom raised her hand apologetically "Our budget's really tight at the moment. Maybe in a few months."  
"Isn't Tommy supposed to earn loads of money?" I demanded grudgingly.  
"Not yet, honey" Mom gave a small sigh "and even if he did, we're not going to ask him for anything. We can manage fine on our own!"I rolled my eyes and focused my attention back to the disgusting dish in front of me.

We were almost finished with our lunch, when the beeping noise of our electronic mail delivering system announced that there was a message. Mom got up, walked over and pressed the button to display the message. She drew in a sharp breath when the message appeared and after a few seconds she clasped her hand over her mouth supressing a soft whimper. I felt my heartbeat intensify. "What's wrong?" I demanded hesitantly.  
She didn't answer. Her breathing was rugged and her hands were shaky, as she stepped back and held onto the kitchen counter to support her own weight. I saw tears welling from her eyes. "Oh God..." she barely whispered.  
I got up and took the few steps to the screen of the messaging machine. I felt as though my breath was slowly drawn from my lungs, as the standard notification on the screen glared back at me:

"_U.S. Military notifications services__  
_

_Casuality notification of next of kin  
_

_Individual Name: Jake Sully Serial identification number: 32 458 937_

_Status: Injured, severly; high possibility of demise before return_

_Current location: U.S. military station 382, Venezuela_

_Appointed VA facility: Central State Facilities, New Polis_

_Expected arrival time at appointed facility: 2146-11-05_

_Expected schedule of first possible visit: 2146-11-07 10:00_

_You will receive notification of individual's current status within the next 24 hours, or upon significant change of status. Please do not contact U.S. military notification services unless to notify U.S. military notification services that you are not rightful recipient of notification. U.S. military notification services will not answer inquiries as to status of individuals._

_You will be asked to confirm schedule of first visit upon arrival of individual at appointed facility. You will receive further information upon confirmation. Please be informed that there is no possibility to visit outside of schedule as provided by appointed facility._

_The U.S. government expresses its sympathy to next of kin and gratitude for individual's service!"_

I swallowed as I felt my stomach turn. My head felt dizzy and I got the strange feeling that the porridge I had just eaten was trying to make its way back up to where it had come from. Mom was still leaning against the kitchen counter, now trying to calm her breathing and shakily wiping at her cheeks. "I should call Tommy" she said. Her voice was unsteady and a little shrill, as though it would falter any second. I nodded slowly, unable to grasp what had just happened. "Do you want me to do it?" I offered quietly. She shook her head. "No, that's fine, honey, I..." she pressed her lips together, enduring the tears that were welling up in her eyes again. "Or, maybe you could..." she conceded.  
She pressed a button on the messaging machine and the screen was black again. Then she took the phone from the table next to it and handed it to me.  
I pressed two buttons and held it to my ear.  
"_Hello?_" my brothers voice on the other end seemed impatient.  
"Hi Tommy, it's me, Amelia!" I said slowly, trying hard to keep my voice steady.  
"_Yes, Hello! What do you need Am?_"  
I took a deep breath. "I, uh... we just..." I swallowed back the tears. "We just got a message from the military..."  
_"Yeah? About what?_" he didn't seem worried in the least.  
"Jake's been injured..." my voice trailed off and there was silence on the other end. "...like... really bad, I think..." I added shakily.  
_"Oh..._" Tommy didn't seem to know what to say. _"Is mom okay?_" he finally asked.  
"Uhm..." What did he expect me to say? Of course, she wasn't okay. "Do you think you could come home? They said we can probably visit him on the seventh... that's this Thursday..."  
Tommy seemed hesitant. _"Er... that's not really a good time for me... Look, I'm sorry, Am, but we're really busy at the moment with the program you know...?"_  
I didn't say anything. How could he not want to come?  
_"I'll call you again later okay? And see if I can find some time to come within the next two weeks, okay?"  
_"Okay..." I whispered and hung up. Mom looked at me with a blank expression. "No time?" she asked hoarsly.  
I nodded slowly. "Said he'll try to come within the next two weeks..." I explained quietly.  
Mom nodded, wiped at her cheek again and kept staring at the now black screen on the messaging machine.


	3. Chapter 3

When I returned to our room Pat, Derek and Eloise were studying. "Are you okay?" Pat asked when I entered and I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine... "

"You should probably start working!" Eloise said, looking up from her screen. "They just announced that power will be turned off every night from midnight to six in the morning..." She made a concerned face at me.  
_Great_, I thought, _Thanks Jake_!

I quickly got out my portable screen and opened the file titled "Methods of elimination for genetically inherited disease". With a sigh and a desperate attempt to focus my attention on the subject of my next exam I started reading.

Midnight came far too soon. Just when I had managed to push away the thoughts on what my brother had done in a distant world, there was a long signal tone and then a voice announced through the loudspeaker, which was installed in every dorm room:

_"Attention, please! In accordance with new regulations power will be turned off in the entire building in five minutes. Attention, please! In accordance with new regulations power will be turned off in the entire building in five minutes."_

Then there was another signal tone and silence after that.  
"Great!" Eloise rolled her eyes and turned off her screen with an annoyed sigh. "And I haven't finished what we were supposed to read..."  
"I'm sure they'll be a little understanding tomorrow, what with the unexpected power-cut" I said, hoping it was true, since I wasn't close to having finished the reading assignment either.  
"I highly doubt that" Derek said with a snort. "They're never understanding when it comes to these things. It's not like we didn't have enough time... Shouldn't have saved it for the last minute..."

I didn't have the nerve to worry about what our professor would say about my unpreparedness, so I just turned off my screen and took the few steps into our sleeping cubicle. There was barely enough room to turn around and I quickly changed into my night clothes. Grabbing the small metal ladder to my upper bunk bed I hesitated for a second and turned to look at the tiny glass hole, which we called our window. Our dorm room was on the thirty-second floor so it didn't have a bad view, although there were many towers surrounding us that were much higher. Staring outside into the darkly glistening skyline of Central City I wondered what this had looked like before the government had decided to use it as a new headquarter for Universities, research centers and pharmaceutical corporations. Every single building in the city I looked at was covered with black solar-absorbing plates. They absorbed the sunlight and were used to generate energy. There were helicopters dispersing a chemical substance into the air that made all the clouds rain off during the night and thus ensure maximum energy input from the sun during the day. There were only very few lights reflecting back from the eerily black buildings now. In the streets I looked down on, there was no movement apart from the occasional police patrol car. The government had implemented an eleven o'clock curfew a few months ago, further restricting it from the original midnight one. Things had changed significantly over the last couple of years, as everyone slowly realized that there was no simple solution to our ever-pressing problems. The latest turns on Pandora were certainly not going to make life any easier for us.

I heard my friends say their Good Nights and then Eloise entered our cubicle. "What are you doing?" she asked, producing a huge yawn.  
"Just looking" I said and shrugged.  
She shook her head and made a face. "Alright" she laughed quietly and got into the lower bunk bed. "Good Night! You should probably get up that ladder before power goes off! I don't want you falling on top of me..."  
I nodded slowly and looked back out the window at the rain falling into our black city.

Then, suddenly, there was a loud clicking noise and everything went dark. I saw the distant headlights of a police car down in the street. It looked like a bubble of light in dark, empty nothingness. I exhaled slowly.

Unable to see anything I raised my hands and felt for the cold metal ladder. Slowly and carefully I took the four steps up, keeping my head low, so I wouldn't hit the ceiling just half a meter high above my bed.  
"You okay?" I heard Eloise's whisper.  
"Yeah" I mumbled quietly, pulling up the covers and closing my eyes. Just one of many lies.

I don't know how long I had been asleep, when a sharp scratching noise on the door that lead to the elevator woke me. It was still utterly dark. There was another loud noise. A thump. And voices.  
"What's happening?" I heard Eloise's worried voice from below me.  
"I don't know" I said, still confused from just waking up, but fear slowly crept up inside me.  
Another loud thump.  
"Hey, are you okay?" I heard Pat's voice, and assumed by the sound of it, that he was sticking his head into our cubicle. I didn't see anything.  
"What's happening?" Eloise demanded again.  
"I have no idea..." Pat sounded worried.  
I heard Eloise get up and inched towards the metal ladder myself, slowly and carefully descending.  
There was a loud crack and then the door to our dorm flew open and black figures with torches entered. Eloise gasped and we all pressed our backs against the wall. Pat and Derek who had been standing by the entrance to our cubicle stumbled back a few steps into the direction of their own.

_"Don't move!"_ a sharp, commanding voice from one of the figures. I held my breath, weak with fear.  
"_Amelia Sully!?"_ a man in a suit emerged from the tumult of black figures. He held a bright torch and shone it directly in our faces. I was unable to see his face, while I felt my knees would give way underneath me any second. Cold fear surged through my every limb.

"Yes" I heard my own voice, small and weak drowning in the darkness.  
He focused the torch on my face and I had to squint.

_"ID?!"_ he demanded sharply. Shaking uncontrollably I held out my left wrist and he grabbed it, using a scanning device to read the identification on my wrist-band. His touch was hard and rough. When the device confirmed my identity he nodded towards the black figures and two of them approached me. I stumbled back a step and hit the wall.  
"I didn't do anything!" I gasped as panic shot through my veins, blinding my senses.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I heard Pat's angry voice.  
_"Stay back!"_ the suited man commanded.  
"SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" Pat all but screamed. Eloise and Derek stood back in shock.  
Two of the black-clad men grabbed my wrists and yanked me away from the wall. My breathing was erratic; my eyes were unable to focus on anything. All I saw was a confusion of blackness and blinding light from the torches.  
They yanked my wrists behind my back and secured them with a painful metal band. I whimpered.  
"Amelia Sully, you are under arrest for suspected contribution to high treason!" the man in the suit announced and I felt a sickness to my stomach.

"WHAT?" Pat's voice was heavy with disbelief and anger. "HIGH TREASON? She didn't DO anything, Goddamn it!"  
The suited man shone his torch directly into Pat's face. "Your friend's brother, Jake Sully, has lead a treacherous attack against our country and its missions, as I am sure you will have heard. This is a cautionary measure for which we have _very_ good reasons!"

Pat's eyes widened and I felt like I would pass out any second. He shook his head. "She doesn't have a brother..." he said, his voice less agitated, quiet with uncertainty. He looked at me with disbelief.  
I swallowed hard and looked down on my feet, then back at him, my pleading face torn with guilt and fear.

"Oh, I think she does!" the suited man said and the two figures holding me started shoving me towards the door. I drew in sharp breaths and heard a whimpering sound escape my lungs again. "Please don't... I swear I didn't do anything..." I whispered. "I haven't had any contact with him in seven years!" The words stumbled out my mouth without my brain making a conscious decision about them.

"STOP IT!" Pat's voice felt like a glimmer of light in the darkness. "Stop it, you can't do that! You can't just take her!"  
The suited man, who was standing next to me, motioned his head towards the black figures that were still standing around. Moving swiftly they went back into our dorm room, took Pat by the wrists and bound them behind his back like mine.

Pat didn't protest. Eloise and Derek stared at me, eyes wide and face pale with shock. They didn't make a sound as Pat and I were led out into the tiny space before the elevator and our dorm room was closed behind us. Waiting for the elevator with numbing fears searing my body I realized that I was hyperventilating. And then, everything slowly went black and the last thing I felt was falling and a black figure reaching out to catch me.

When I woke up, my head was ringing and a sharp pain shot through my wrists, which were now freed again. I slowly sat up from the cold, white tile floor I was lying on. Leaning against the wall my eyes regained their focus and I saw Pat sitting on the floor across from me in the tiny, bright room.  
My dark brown waves were still in the same ponytail as when I had gone to bed that night. I pulled out the rubber band, letting them fall freely on my shoulders and covered my face with my hands, trying to make sense of anything that had happened.

Of course they would know, I thought and shook my head. How could I be so stupid as to believe that the government wouldn't know every relative of every person, who ever did anything at all.

My wrists were bruised and hurt when I moved them. Pat's hands were still tied behind his back and he looked at me, not saying a word.  
I leaned my head against the wall and tried to breathe in and out deeply. Then I tied my hair back again and looked at him.

He stared straight at me. "Are you okay?" he said quietly, but a lot more coldly than I had hoped. I nodded slowly. He kept looking at me and when I didn't say anything he continued. "So..." he said, his voice drained of any emotion. "You're an only child, are you?"  
I swallowed hard and bit my lip. Then I shook my head, staring at my bruised wrists. The bright light felt like stabs in my eyes.

"I think you might have some explaining to do..." Pat said, his voice still hard.  
I turned my head up and looked at him, then I nodded slowly, closed my eyes and the words began tumbling from my lips.  
"I had two older brothers" I started, my voice quiet and unsteady "they were twins... identical twins... Tommy and... " I took a deep breath, forcing his name out. "...Jake. They were almost seven years older than me. Tommy had a PhD in biology and was studying and training for the RDA's Avatar program on Pandora... You know the program, where they..." Pat nodded, indicating that he knew what the program was about.  
I took a breath and continued, slightly more calmly. "And then... about a week before he was supposed to go, he was shot... In the street... just like that..." I stared at the ceiling and fought the tears. When I looked back down, Pat's face had softened a little.  
"I'm sorry" he whispered.  
I shook my head, cleared my throat and continued. "And then they asked Jake if he wanted to go instead, 'cause you know he's genetically identical and everything... and those Avatar thingies are insanely expensive apparently and they didn't want to waste one and... "  
I stopped for a moment. "And so he went... and left for Pandora... and I haven't heard anything from him since... and it's been almost seven years and..."  
I shook my head slowly. "I didn't expect to ever hear from him again, and I didn't want to talk about them... so I just... told everyone I was an only child." I concluded and looked at Pat.  
His features were softer now, compassionate. He nodded slowly.  
"I'm sorry, Pat!" I said, and meant it.  
He shook his head. "Don't be!"

"Do you miss him?" he said after a long silence.  
I contemplated his question for a minute, but when I opened my mouth to answer, we were interrupted.  
The heavy white door to our tiny cell was opened and I felt my heart thump in my throat. Another man in a suit entered and smiled at me. I blinked in confusion. Why did he smile?  
"Amelia Sully?" he asked with a kind voice.  
I nodded.  
"We're very sorry for the unpleasant circumstances of your arrival here." He smiled again. "We'd very much like to talk to you!"  
He held out a hand towards me and I took it hesitantly, pulling myself up, uncomfortably looking at Pat for an explanation. He shrugged his shoulders.  
"I'll get someone to take those wristbands off, immediately!" the suited man said turning to Pat.  
Then he stretched out his arm towards the open door and guided me outside.


	4. Chapter 4

**9 Years earlier**

* * *

We had gotten another notification a day later. It confirmed that my brother had arrived at the facility and asked us to confirm that we would come on the first visit they had scheduled. Mom sent a message, confirming that two people would come. We had talked to Tommy again, but he was busy and said he would try to make it the following week. There was a heavy silence in our little apartment the two days preceding our visit. Mom didn't talk a lot and neither did I.

When Thursday arrived, Mom and I got up early. Neither of us was hungry, so we didn't eat anything. We made our way to the sky train, which took us to the station of the Inter-City-Express. The trip to New Polis took about an hour and we spent it in silence. Neither of us knew what to expect. _"Severely injured"_ the notification had said. That could mean anything. I had a hard time keeping my breathing steady, when we finally arrived before the huge building with giant letters spelling out:  
"**Central State Facilities****  
****City of New Polis**  
**Department of Veterans Affairs**"

We entered through a large automatic door and I was met by the acrid smell of sterility that I remembered so well from the times we had visited my father in hospital. I was glad I hadn't had anything for breakfast, since I was sure I would have brought it back up now.  
We approached the lady, who sat behind a glass wall, titled "Registrations", and Mom handed her the tiny silver metal slip, which contained the confirmation of our visiting schedule. The lady took it without looking at us, scanned it and handed it back. "Twenty-fourth floor" she said, still not looking at us. "Exit elevator to the right, door number two-four-eight!" She handed us back the slip and we turned to the long row of elevators, finding the one with the heading "Floors 20 to 29".  
_Two-four-eight, Two-four-eight_, I silently repeated in my head, over and over again. More so to calm myself down than to remember the door number.

We left the elevator on the according floor and were greeted by a long white corridor, with doors to both sides of it. Turning right, we walked down the corridor until we reached number two-four-eight. I heard mom take a deep breath, before she raised her hands and carefully knocked her knuckles against it.

The door was opened promptly. A short, relatively old nurse, with curly white-blond hair tied back in a knot opened the door and greeted us with a warm smile. Her smiling face felt like a single breath of oxygen in an otherwise toxic atmosphere.  
"Are you Mrs. Sully?" she asked, her voice warm and raspy.  
My mother nodded. "Yes, I am!".  
The nurse took mom's hand in both of hers and squeezed it for a few seconds. "Welcome, sweetheart!" she said "Don't worry! Everything's going to be okay!"  
Behind her the long room was white, with elements of a disgusting mint green. There were about ten beds, divided by thin metal walls. A symphony of beeping sounds filled my ears.  
"You're lucky!" the nurse said, taking my hand and leading us past the beds. "He just woke up!"  
Then she stopped at one of the beds and I turned to look at my brother. He was hooked up to at least three different tubes and machines and he looked pale and sick. "Hi" he said hoarsely and produced and awkward smile, when he saw us. Mom clasped her hand over her mouth again and rushed to the side of the bed. "Hello, honey!" she whispered, producing a pained smile.  
"I'm going to give you some privacy now..." the nurse said quietly, smiling warmly at me again and then left us. I slowly walked to the other side of the bed, biting my lower lip and trying my hardest to act normal.  
"Hey Jake!" I said as brightly as I could manage and he turned his head towards me. "Hey Am!" he smiled back at me, trying equally hard to sound cheerful. "How's school?" he asked.  
"School's good" I said, not really caring whether that was true.  
"Great" he said, moving his head in a manner that distantly resembled a nod.  
"How are you feeling?" mom said quietly, her expression worried.  
"I'm fine" Jake assured her. "Really... I'm okay!" Mom frowned and carefully took his hand, holding it in hers.  
"Tommy busy?" Jake asked after a short, but awkward silence. Mom nodded apologetically.  
"Thank God" Jake said and laughed. His laugh turned into a cough and for a second I was worried that he would choke. "Don't need another worried face" he finished his sentence and smiled.  
"Mrs. Sully?" I heard from behind us and mom and I turned to see a man in a white coat, presumably a doctor.  
"Yes?" mom answered.  
"My name's Doctor Simmons, would you like to come talk in my office?" He looked up from his clipboard expectantly.  
Mom turned to look between Jake and Doctor Simmons and then hesitantly nodded her head.  
"We'll be right back!" she smiled, looking back at Jake and we both followed the white coat out of the room and into a small office on the opposite side of the corridor.

"Please have a seat!" the Doctor said, pressed a button and a visual screen appeared, showing a human torso, with the spine highlighted.  
"As you've probably been told, you're son was quite severely injured" the Doctor started and pointed his fingers to the highlighted spine on the screen. "His lower thoracic vertebrae have been crushed, severely damaging the spinal cord at that level and consequently paralyzing him."  
Mom nodded slowly, trying to understand. "But you can fix that, right?" she asked, looking up at the Doctor hopefully.  
The man pursed his lips, then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we could, technically, yes. However, the government is not going to pay for it and I doubt you'll be able to afford the treatment."  
Mom swallowed. She knew we didn't have a chance to pay for any expensive medical treatment. "Why are they not paying for it? He was injured in combat... And he doesn't have any useful job qualifications other than the military... He wouldn't be able to do anything unless..." Mom trailed off, looking at the Doctor incredulously.  
"Look M'am" he started with a sigh. "I don't make these decisions. They conduct a cost-benefit-analysis, and I'm afraid for your son the result was negative. It's cheaper for the government to pay for his living expenses than conduct the surgery with uncertain expectations as to whether he would be fully usable for active duty again."  
Mom stared at the man incredulously and I had a hard time processing what he had just said.  
"But..." mom started, but was cut off.  
"I'm really sorry, M'am, but you're talking to the wrong guy! If you think there's been a mistake you can file an application for reconsideration."  
Mom shook her head in disbelief. "Does he know?" she said, trying hard to keep her voice steady. The Doctor sighed. "I believe so, M'am!"  
Mum pressed her lips together and her forehead creased. Then a bitter laugh escaped her. "Right!" she said and nodded. "Thank you for your time!" She got up, took me by the hand and moved to leave the room.  
"Where are going, M'am?" the doctor called after us.  
"To see my son!" Mom said with determined defiance.  
The doctor slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid you can't, M'am! Visiting time is over!"  
"But..." Mom's voice was shaky now. "...I barely had a chance to talk to him!"  
"Sorry!" the doctor said insincerely. "You can apply for a new visit and we'll try to schedule it within the next week..." he finished, already turning his attention to the next file on his desk.

We left the large hospital tower as quickly as we could and I didn't dare say a word to my mother until we were back in our apartment two hours later.

"Should I call Tommy?" I asked quietly. Mom shook her head with determination. "I'll do that myself!" she said angrily.  
She picked up the phone and pressed the buttons.  
"Hello Tom!" she said, making no attempt at concealing her anger.  
I couldn't hear what Tommy was saying on the other end, but by my mother's answer I knew he had asked about Jake.  
"Well, you'd know if you cared enough to come here!" she said angrily. "It's not like it's that far away, Tom! And don't tell me your busy, we're all busy, Goddamn it!"  
Tommy said something and mom laughed bitterly.  
"No he didn't, I think he knows you don't care..."  
Then she was quiet for a while and I heard Tommy's voice grow louder on the other end.  
"His spinal cord is severely damaged." Mom finally said "And they're not going to fix it... The, uh... the cost-benefit-analysis turned out negative."  
There was no answer on the other side and Mom continued. "Why don't you let me know when you care enough about your brother to visit, okay?" and with that she hung up.  
Then she leaned against the kitchen counter and sobbed quietly.


	5. Chapter 5

The suited man led me into a medium sized room with a large table.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. I shook my head. I was starving.  
"Alright... would you like something to drink?"  
I considered for a moment then nodded. "Water, please" I said quietly.  
"Please, have a seat!" the man motioned towards a chair at the table and took his own seat across from me. "I have to say again" he began. "I really am sorry for how that went down last night. You know, we can never know for sure what to expect." He shrugged his shoulders apologetically.  
I nodded, without looking at him. "Then what do you want from me?" I said hoarsely.  
"Well..." he began. "That's a little more complicated. First I would be very interested in what your relationship was with your brother and when you were last in contact with him. Did you say Good-Bye on good terms etc?" He smiled at me.  
A young woman in a tightly fitting skirt and blouse carried in a glass of water and set it on the table in front of me.  
"Thanks" I mumbled, feverishly pondering whether I should tell the man across from me the truth.  
As if he could read my mind he continued. "We don't want to find something against you, Miss Sully! Look... the truth is we need your help."  
My eyes almost popped out. _My help?_  
The man laughed. "Okay... I'll start from the beginning, shall I...?"  
He made a large, encompassing gesture with his right arm. "So your brother was involved in the Avatar program and the whole idea of that was to, sort of, infiltrate into the native population etc. And your brother got a little too involved and finally changed sides, turning against the RDA and helping the natives to drive them out. As far as we know, he's living with the natives now."  
I couldn't help laughing. "He's what?"  
"I know" he laughed. "Rumor has it he made eyes at the native tribe's chief's daughter or something."  
I shook my head incredulously. That sounded like a cheap version of some sappy old movie I had once seen.  
"Soo..." he continued. "Your brother now seems to have pretty good ties to the natives, but we have no ties whatsoever to him..." he raised his eyebrows meaningfully at me. "...which is where _you_ come into the picture."

I still didn't understand. "What do you want me to do?" I asked.  
"We'd like to establish a negotiating basis with the natives again. You see, we truly regret how things went down the last time... But we really need those mining grounds and the last thing we want is another full-on war. So... we think you might be helpful in finding back into a negotiating basis with the natives. You know... considering that you're the chief's daughter's boyfriend's sister." He grinned at me after that last part.  
"Right..." I took a sip from the water. "So I'm supposed to... come with you to Pandora...?"  
He nodded. "Well, not with _me._I'm not going, but with our team. Though first we would really like to know what your relationship to him was like...?"  
I considered for a moment. "It was... okay, I guess" I answered as truthfully as I could. "I mean, we were close when we were younger, and then... we were still on good terms when he left, but things were a little strange with my other brother having died so shortly before..."  
The suited man nodded slowly. "So, do you think it might be fair to say that he felt a little guilt at leaving you and your mother behind?"  
I shrugged. I had no idea really. "I don't know... maybe."  
"Alright" he said, getting up from his chair and I did the same. "We'll get back to you. I'm afraid you'll have to stay here, but don't worry we will make sure it'll be comfortable!" He smiled again.  
"What about Patrick?" I asked nervously.  
"Your friend?"  
I nodded.  
"Oh he can go home... We don't need him!"  
"Can I talk to him?" I pleaded, my voice sounding more desperate than I had intended.  
The man raised an eyebrow at me. "I... guess you could, sure..."  
With that the door behind me opened and another young woman motioned for me to follow her.

She led me into a large room, with a sofa, a table and a TV wall. "Make yourself comfortable!" she said, smiling at me coolly. "I'll go get your friend" with that she left and I heard her lock the door on me. They were trying to make me feel comfortable, but I was still a prisoner.

I slumped down on the sofa and stared at the TV screen. My world had turned upside down from one second to the next, I thought. But after a longer while of thinking I slowly shook my head to myself. That wasn't true. My world had been a chaotic mess long before today. This was just another kick in my already sick stomach. I sighed quietly, when I heard the lock on the door being opened.

Pat entered and I felt a sense of relief wash over me. The moment the door was closed I jumped up and rushed towards him. He opened his arms and we fell into a deep embrace. He smelled of freshly washed clothes and a hint of sweat, which I didn't mind.  
"What did they want from you?" he said, breaking up our embrace and looking into my face.  
"They, uh..." I shook my head, trying to make sense of my thoughts without success. Nothing made any sense at all. "They... want my help..."  
Pat looked at me uncomprehendingly.  
"I'm supposed to... talk to my brother... and persuade him to... persuade the natives to let us mine again or something..." I pulled up my shoulders helplessly. "I don't understand anything, Pat..."  
Pat put his arms around me again. "Don't worry, Am! Everything's going to be okay! Do you want me to talk to them?"  
I nodded into his shirt, almost certain that his talking to them would not help in the least. But it was worth a try.  
The door went open again a minute later, a man entered and stretched out his hand to Pat. "What do you want to know?" he asked with a cold smile and I realized that they had been observing us and listening in on our conversation.

Pat was thrown off for a moment and searched for something to say.  
"Well?" the suited figure said impatiently.  
"You want to take her to Pandora?" Pat asked, somewhat hesitantly.  
"That's the plan!" The man nodded.  
"What if she doesn't want to go?" Pat demanded, more steadily now.  
"Well..." the man took a deep breath, and then pursed his lips, signaling that that wasn't really an option.  
"So you're forcing her?" Pat said finally, nodding in confirmation of his initial suspicion.

The man laughed. It was an unpleasant sound.  
"Look" he said "none of us like how all this is going. But look around you! We're already taking emergency measures to cut down our energy consumption, but if we don't find a solution quickly, then _everything_ is going to break down. And I mean _everything!_Transportation, electricity, food production, hospitals, prisons... As far as anyone who can think straight is concerned, if that happens, we are going to slide into civil war faster than you can say "I'm sorry, I should've listened!" Now, we don't want that to happen, and trust me, neither do you!" He stared straight at me and I swallowed.  
He was right and I knew it. All you had to do, as he had said, was look around you with your eyes open. The curfews, the power-cuts, the horrendous prices for train and plane tickets, the extreme restrictions on car ownership... The government was already doing everything they could, but it was too late. Without the additional energy supply from the miracle drug, unobtanium, we would run out; and fast at that. The thought of a violent conflict, which was the only logical consequence, made me shudder. Of course I didn't want that...

"I understand." I finally said and the man seemed pleased.  
Pat looked at me with a frown.  
I met his gaze. He had to understand that what the man had said was true.

"Can I come with her?" he suddenly blurted out and I gasped quietly. Why hadn't the thought occurred to me? How much easier that would make everything for me. I turned to look at the man's frowning face, with an expression so desperately pleading that I thought I would fall on my knees any second.  
"Err..." he seemed discontented "... that's not really part of the plan. You see, the travel is extremely expensive! You'll have to be there as fast as possible, so you will travel with a ship that will take only two years to get to Pandora, instead of the usual six. As you can imagine it's extremely energy-intensive... Any additional person will cost us hugely."  
"But you need her in the best possible condition!" Pat was determined. Nothing was going to stop him. "If you want her to help negotiate with her brother, the most important thing is that she is emotionally stable and focused. The best and _only_way to ensure that, is to have someone there, who she knows and trusts. You don't want to risk her bonding with the only person she knows - her brother - and turning sides as well!" Pat knew he had a killer-argument with that last one and looked confident.  
My hopes at having Pat come with me were getting higher, but somehow that last comment he had made gave me the beginning symptoms of a headache. If they had to ensure I didn't take sides with my brother... that meant that I was supposed to be on the other side. I was supposed to work against him. God knows what that could involve.

"I will discuss it with the team!" the man finally said, turned around and left. The door was locked again.

"Thank you" I whispered and Pat smiled.  
"Are you scared?" he asked.  
"Not if you come with me!" I answered truthfully.  
"You're not scared we might never come back, if we leave?"  
I shrugged. "I don't have anything I'd miss, except for you." The words had left my lips before I realized what I had said and I felt my cheeks redden with heat.  
Pat grinned broadly. He looked very handsome, I thought quietly to myself. His jet-black hair would make beautiful curls if he let it grow a little longer and his features were strong, if slightly boyish when he smiled.  
I sighed deeply and prayed that they would let him come.

An hour later another young woman, dressed in a ridiculously short skirt and blouse, wheeled in a serving trolley. I got up from the sofa and couldn't believe my eyes. My mouth fell open.  
There was a large round plate filled with freshly cut fruit. I blinked a couple of times, making sure that I wasn't dreaming.  
"Enjoy!" the woman said and left, locking us up once again, but this time I hardly even noticed.  
"Do you see what I see?" Pat asked incredulously.  
I nodded blankly, still staring at the colorful arrangement. The last time I had had a fresh piece of fruit had been almost two years ago. Something like the plate before us, I believed I had never seen in my entire life. It must have cost a fortune.  
"Strawberries" I whispered, my eyes spotting two little red pieces on the plate.  
Pat shook his head in disbelief. "I've never had one before" he said.  
"Really?" I asked "I had one once... like ten years ago... Tommy had brought a couple home. He had gotten them from the RDA... you know when he was training for the Avatar program..."  
Pat chuckled softly. "Well they sure know how to make friends..."  
We stood motionless for a few more seconds. Then I looked at Pat. "I'm not very good at sharing!" I said, as a huge smile slowly spread across my face.  
Pat laughed heartily and we bent over the beautiful plate and got a small taste of paradise.

With our stomachs filled we lay on the sofa and I couldn't remember the last time I had felt so satisfied.  
"Do you think I'll get strawberries every day now?" I asked Pat, stroking one hand over my belly.  
Pat snorted. "I doubt it. As far as I know they don't grow in space... unfortunately..."  
I sighed. "True... maybe they grow on Pandora..."  
Pat gave me a look with which he seems to question my intelligence. "Oh, I'm sure they'll grow on Pandora" he said with mock seriousness "you know: a moon light-years away from earth, toxic atmosphere, completely different eco-system... but strawberries? Certainly!"  
I chuckled and kicked him with my foot. "Don't be so arrogant..." After a moment I continued with a pout. "The things growing on Pandora probably all taste disgusting."  
"I'm sure they don't taste disgusting for the natives" Pat gave me a smile "but we probably can't even eat them... You know they might be poisonous for us..."  
I hadn't thought of that. "Right..." I contemplated "So that means I can look forward to a _very long_ time of disgusting goo and tasteless bread... Great! I hope they take as long as possible deciding whether you can come..."

They didn't. Half an hour later the smiling man, who had explained what they wanted from me came into the room and announced, obviously proud with his achievement: "Good News: I've convinced them to let your friend come with you! You're both going to Pandora..." he raised his eyebrows "Congratulations!"  
I exhaled slowly. Pat nodded. "Thank you!" he said.  
Then the man handed us each a folder and said. "Read this! Everything you need to know is in here. About the trip, about Pandora, safety regulations, protocol etc. and a short outline of the mission."  
I received the think folder and wondered briefly how that could really be everything. I mean, we were going on a two year trip, to moon light-years away from earth to do something insanely important, maybe dangerous...  
"Do we know when we'll be leaving yet?" Pat asked.  
"Tomorrow" the man smiled.  
My eyes almost popped. "_Tomorrow?_"  
He laughed and nodded at me. "No time to waste!"  
With that he went back to the door and turned around. "Have a good trip! And thanks for doing this!" He smiled and closed the door behind him. I never saw him again.

We spent the rest of the day reading our folders. There was very little information about the place we were going. The main part was dedicated to explaining our trip and mission. We would first take a ship to Solid Sky, a huge space station which was located at the very outer rim of the Alpha Centauri system. It would take us about one and a half years to get there. I shuddered at the thought of sleeping for such an extended amount of time. It said that we wouldn't feel anything, since we would spend the time in "Cryosleep", which also meant that we wouldn't age. I still didn't like the thought.  
Pat was apparently reading the exact same part, because he looked up at me and pursed his lips. "Did your brother travel in cryosleep as well?"  
I nodded.  
Pat continued. "So if it took him six years to go there... and he didn't age during that time right? And it will take us only two years... that means that the age difference between you and your brother will be reduced by four years."  
He smiled at me broadly, obviously amazed by this insight.  
I laughed. "Right... that's going to be strange..."

I continued reading. We would spend only two or three days at Solid Sky, where we would also meet and get to know "the team".  
Apart from Pat, me and a man named Parker Selfridge, who was the former head administrator of the RDA on Pandora, there would be four more people, who were not yet determined.  
When we were finished we stared at each other for a while.  
"Who'd have known we'd get to save the world one day, huh?" Pat said thoughtfully.  
I smiled and contemplated his words. _The world._ We weren't saving _the _world, we were saving _our _world, I thought; certainly not that which Jake would now call _his world_.

A little later on, one of the many faceless women came to lead us to a different room, which had a large king-size bed.  
"You don't mind sharing a bed do you?" she asked and locked the door behind us without awaiting an answer.  
Pat and I looked at each other. I had never shared a bed with him, or any man for that matter, apart from my brothers when we were younger. I didn't mind.  
We had separate blankets and Pat inched to the very outer edge of the bed. I smiled to myself. I loved how discreet and respectful he was being.

The next morning everything went extremely fast. We were escorted to a helicopter, which presumably took us to the launching pad of our ship. I looked out the window and saw an endless see of black buildings rush past us underneath. The hundreds of thousands of solar panels absorbed every ray of sunlight, giving the city a somber atmosphere, despite the bright sky.  
_I doubt I'm going to miss you_, I told the city in my mind and a little later we landed.  
They led us through long white corridors into a small room where we changed into something that looked a bit like hospital pajamas. It was followed by another long white corridor and a few doctors who didn't take very long to examine us.  
Then we entered the ship. In a very low and narrow room they pulled out two capsule-shaped beds and motioned for us to lie down. We did and they hooked us up to a number of wires and tubes. I turned to look at Pat.  
"See you on the other side!" he grinned and I laughed nervously. A strange sense of excitement passed between us, before they closed the capsules around us and I slowly drifted off into unconsciousness.

* * *

Bye, Bye Earth...

... Hello Reviews! ;) Let me know what you think


	6. Chapter 6

*******There is quite a lot of swearing in this chapter (some f-words, a- and s-words). It is probably going to be the only chapter though where that happens - anyone know if I have to rate the whole story M now, or is it enough to point it out here and leave the rest of the story rated T?***

* * *

**9 Years earlier**

* * *

Jake came home three weeks later. He had spent two more weeks in hospital and one week in rehabilitation. They wouldn't pay for longer.  
We had been allowed to visit three more times and with every time Jake's mood had deteriorated further. Tommy hadn't found time to visit. Mom cried a lot and amid it all I got the results of my tests back. Recommended fields of study: medicine and biology. The fact that they called it "_recommended_ field of study" angered me much more than the fact that it wasn't what I had wanted to do. Of course, I didn't complain about it to mom - there was absolutely no need to upset her any further.

When Jake came home mom and I tried our best to act normal and cheerful, but his mood hanging heavy in the rooms was like the smog in the city outside - deadening everything joyful that had once been in the atmosphere. After just three days it had gotten to a point where I was glad to leave for school in the morning and dreaded coming home in the afternoon.

"I'm back" I called from the front door, when I came home on the fifth day since he had been back.

There was no answer.

Since the corridors and door to our bedroom were too narrow for a wheelchair Jake spent the nights on the couch in the living room. And most of the days as well.

"How are you?" I asked, closing the door behind me and setting my bag on the table.

"Great." His voice was deep and gruff, devoid of any emotion.

"Tommy's gonna visit today. He'll stay until tomorrow."

"Great..." in exactly the same tone "...how generous of him."

I bit my lip and tried hard to sound joyful. "You know we could go out for dinner. Tommy gets paid pretty well, I'm sure he could... you know contribute a little..."

"Great."

"Are you hungry? Do you want anything now?" I rummaged through our scarcely filled cupboard looking for something that looked like food.

"No." After a second he added. "You know, you don't have to try so hard, Am..."

I closed the cupboard and exhaled quietly. _Well maybe you should try a little harder_, I whispered under my breath, making sure he didn't hear. When he started to upright himself on the couch to then laboriously move into his wheelchair, I looked away for a second, feeling a pang of guilt at the words I had just uttered before. Who was I to judge him?

Tommy arrived in the evening, just half an hour after mom had returned from work. We were sitting at the table when the doorbell rang. Mom got up to open it.

"Hello Mom" he said, a hint of guilt in his voice and mom just nodded without a word.

Tommy turned towards us. I saw him flinch a little when he saw our brother. Jake looked weak and sick - not at all like Tommy would have remembered him. He made no move to welcome his twin brother at the door.

"Hi, Jake" Tommy said, keeping his distance as well.

"Hello Tommy" He hardly looked at the other.

"Dinner's almost ready" mom said from the kitchen.

Tommy sat down at the table. "You know we could have gone out for dinner... I mean, I'm sure we could have afforded it collectively..."

"Oh... you know we're trying to save money wherever we can, so..." Mom answered from the kitchen.

Tommy tilted his head slightly. "Are you... trying to save up for the spinal treatment?"

Mom fiddled to open a bag of cooked rice, but didn't answer. We all knew that was hopeless. Mom hardly earned enough to get the two of us through decently. Tommy had to know that too.

"You know..." he began slowly with a sideways glance at Jake "... once I leave for Pandora I'll earn quite a lot of money... you know when I come back I could... contribute... a little..."

"Oh, you're such a saint, Tommy" Jake laughed sarcastically.

Tommy stared at his twin for a while and I felt something inside him snap.  
"You know, Jake..." he began, his voice now aggressive "...you knew what you were getting yourself into, when you joined the army! You knew shit could happen and tadaa... it happened! Don't complain about it to us, okay? Don't act like it's our fault!"

"Oh it's not your fault Tommy! But excuse me for finding it a bit absurd that the government is shoving money up your little PhD ass, spending trillions of dollars on your weird little science projects, while casually telling the rest of us to go fuck ourselves!" Jake was still smiling, which infuriated Tommy even more.

"You know what I think?" he asked "I think the government would do a great lot of good if it spend _a lot less_ on the Goddamn military and a lot more on scientific developments! You think you did any of us any good? Going down there and killing off people in Venezuela?"

Jake laughed out loud, but there was a painfully negative tone to it. "Ohh... so that's where we're back to, is it? You and your high morals and your virgin-like conscience... You think you're so much better than me? Well what do you think you're doing for the RDA, huh? You think they're paying shitloads of money so someone can write fancy books about leafs and ladybirds? You're assisting them in their quest to make money, Tommy! They don't want you to go there in your fancy native dress-up-thing whatever you call it, to make friends with the natives and teach them our national anthem... They're sending you to find the best way to fuck the natives and make loads of money. Now I don't have a problem with that Tommy, but don't act like you're so much better than me!"

"I'm a scientist, Jake!" Tommy was furious at our brother's words. "I only work for the RDA because they fund research, not because I want anything to do with their profit-seeking."

"Oh, _come on_, Tommy! How fucking naive are you? You think they're gonna pay billions of dollars to send you to that fucking planet so you can count fucking flowers?"

"It's not a planet." Tommy stated calmly. "It's a moon..."

"I don't give a fuck what it is, Tommy!"

Tommy didn't answer.

We spent most of the rest of the dinner in silence. I told them of my test results at some point, because I could no longer bear the silence. Tommy was mildly enthusiastic and said I should go with biology. Then, if I was good enough, I might get into one of the RDA's programs as well. I told him that I was pretty certain I would go with medicine.

Tommy left early the next morning. At lunch that day, Jake told us that he would be moving out in two weeks time, to Central City - which also happened to be where Tommy was training for his program, though I was certain that being closer to his twin was not one of the factors that had played into Jake's decision. Sometimes I wondered how they had gotten from best friends, when they were kids, to something like unwanted acquaintances.  
When they had been in high school Jake had faced detention more than once for beating up kids who had bullied Tommy for being the nerd that he was. And Tommy had on occasion written two sets of homework, when Jake had been busy beating up bullies or doing God knows what.  
Now, it was like all they had ever known was resentment of the other. I guess when people live in different worlds they become different people, gradually ceasing to understand each other - genetically identical or not.


End file.
